Buyers Moving in on German Property

According to The Move Channel, more buyers are looking towards Germany for property. Although Spain was still the most popular destination in August, largely due to the huge number of distressed properties on the market, Germany jumped 6 places to enter The Move Channel.com's top 10.

© openwater ' Fotolia.com

In August Germany overtook Greece as well as Bulgaria, but this should probably come as little surprise as the country has always been seen as something of a safe haven within Europe. Moody's recently lowered its ratings for Europe, resulting in nearly double the number of inquiries into German property from overseas buyers compared to the previous month. August saw Germany leap into ninth position on the list.

Germany wasn't the only country to experience a huge increase in popularity, as tiny Malta rose from twelfth on the list to eighth, just ahead of Germany. Last month saw both countries make their second appearance in The Move Channel.com's top 10 within the last 12 months as buyers are increasingly looking for more familiar property markets that are proving to be relatively resistant to recession.

Buyers are also returning in greater numbers. In September 2011 Germany accounted for 2.19% of the website inquiries, but that share increased to 2.38% nearly a year later. Malta has seen a similar increase, rising from 2.59% in May this year to reach 2.68% in August.

Dan Johnson, director of The Move Channel.com commented on these figures saying 'It's hard to remember a time when real estate headlines were not overshadowed by the Eurozone crisis. The recession has meant different things were different countries. Despite Spain's poor financial outlook, international buyers have seized the chance to snap up bargain holiday homes along the Costas. Germany, on the other hand, has made no political friends in outlining its plans for the single currency, but its economic authority has boosted its profile for real estate investors.'

One thing is certain, and that's that real estate buyers tend to remain loyal once they have chosen a country in which to invest, and The Move Channel's top 10 is continually in dominated by European destinations.